AHL Journal: Can streaking Falcons keep it up?

Jonathan Marchessault, seen here in action with the
Blue Jackets during a call-up last season, leads Springfield with
26 points on the season. (Getty Images)

Five regulation losses. That's it. Factor in a
record of 13-3-0-1 at home and 11-2-1-2 away from Springfield and
it’s clear something special is happening this season with
the Falcons. The consistent team effort and scorer-by-committee is
making Springfield one of the toughest teams to play against in the
AHL.

Brad Larsen's group has
established themselves as the team that opponents circle on the
calendar. Their 52 points are tied for best in the league alongside
the Manchester Monarchs, even though the Falcons have five games
in-hand. Every skater on the active roster has registered at least
one point, with winger Jonathan Marchessault
leading the team with 12 goals and 14 assists for 26 points.
Thirteen skaters on the active roster have at least 10 points, a
testament to the Falcons being able to spread the offense
around.

On defense, Frederic St. Denis is
developing into a solid two-way defenseman, putting up points with
eight goals and 12 assists, including three tallies on the power
play. And even though Jeremy Smith has been rock
solid in goal, his backup and oft-call-up, Mike
McKenna, has been just as good, allowing only 13 goals in
nine games.

The challenge for the Falcons now becomes
maintaining this pace with a no apparent superstars or elite
players in the AHL. As the Columbus Blue Jackets, their parent NHL
club, get their players healthy, the Falcons roster could become
one of the more consistent lineups in the AHL. And for a team that
has only made the playoffs once in the last 10 years (last season),
the tide is finally turning. It’s a testament to the work
ethic and passion that Larsen has instilled in his players. As the
eighth head coach of the Falcons in those 10 years, success is now
a must for Springfield.

Power Rankings

1) SpringfieldFalcons (24-5-1-3): The Falcons went undefeated
this week in games that included gritty wins against the streaking
Albany Devils and Providence Bruins. Winger Spencer
Machacek gave the Falcons two goals against Providence,
the game-tying and winning tallies, and added another assist in
Springfield's first win of the week over St. John's IceCaps.
(Last week: 3-0, #1)

2) Providence
Bruins (19-10-1-5): Amid Niklas Svedberg
getting called up to Boston after an impressive outing in Tuesday's
win over the Manchester Monarchs, and Malcolm
Subban's shutout on Friday against the Worcester Sharks,
the Providence Bruins are beginning to turn the corner on the
season. It helps that they scored 15 goals in four games this week,
including eight against Worcester on Sunday. (Last week: 3-1,
#3)

3) ManchesterMonarchs (23-8-2-4): The Monarchs' record looks
fine and they're still one of the more dominant teams in the AHL,
but they'll want to forget this mediocre, if not below average,
week. The good news for the Monarchs? NHL's Rookie of the Month
Martin Jones was assigned back to Manchester on
Sunday. (Last week: 1-2-1, #2)

4) PortlandPirates (13-12-1-4): There's a big drop-off
between the three top New England teams in the AHL and the bottom
four. The best of the rest of them, however, are a Portland Pirates
team treading water and playing .500 hockey. They'll get right back
at on Monday, a game against the St. John IceCaps was cancelled due
to snow. (Last week: 1-1, #4)

5) WorcesterSharks (14-15-2-1): The Sharks aren't playing good
hockey right now, as shown by their two losses to the Bruins by a
combined 11-2 score. Still, there are positives. Goaltender
Harry Sateri looked good during a 3-2 win over
Hartford in their only win of the week. (Last week: 1-3,
#5)

6) Bridgeport Sound
Tigers (13-18-1-4): Another week where the Sound Tigers
couldn't get it together. Even in their lone shootout loss against
the Norfolk Admirals, winger Justin Johnson
accumulated a team-high 24 penalty minutes after two separate
fights with Zack Storini.(Last week: 0-2-0-1,
#7)

7) HartfordWolfpack (11-17-0-5): Like their Connecticut foes,
the Hartford Wolfpack didn't have much success on the week. In
fact, they had none. In what is turning into a spiral of a season
for the Wolfpack, they have a chance to jump ahead of the
Bridgeport Sound Tigers in the power rankings next week if they can
beat them first. (Last week: 0-1-0-1, #6)